Fair
by Venator Noctis
Summary: "Life isn't fair Daphne." She would prove him wrong. Takes place during 7th year. Wrong-Girl-Who Lived, living Potter parents. Harry is the eldest. Oneshot


**So, kinda lost my muse for my other two stories for the moment. Instead, I'm now writing oneshots and working on two new stories. Don't worry though, I'm still working on Empty Promises and the Pain of Corruption, just been way too busy to make any real progress. So, without further ado, let me introduce my first oneshot "Fair"!**

**Enjoy!**

Fair

War. Never honorable, nor glorious. It's a matter of horror, blood, tears, and the bane of Mankind. Yet, we can't seem to live without it.

Wizard or not.

Now a-days, Daphne Greengrass spent her time pondering just what the war had done to her, and what it was still doing. Due to her being a pureblood, she was constantly pressured by her housemates to join the dark lord, and to get on her knees before the Malfoy boy, expected to bend over for him to produce heir after heir.

Her sister, sweet and young, succumbed to the pressure in her 5th year, and was never the same. When Astoria wasn't in the bedroom, she was either flirting with Death Eaters, or crying her eyes out in Greengrass Manor. Her parents were receiving constant "offers" to join the Dark Lord, and they couldn't ignore them forever. Her family had already been threatened so many times, and one day, the Dark Lord's impatience became apparent. He came, alone, and burned down Greengrass Manor, making sure that each stone was blasted into dust, and each beam turned to ash.

Were it not for her Father's wards of warning, her parents would've been killed. Instead, her parents fled the Manor, seeking safety with Albus Dumbledore, causing her current residence to become the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Grimmauld Place. She hated it. For one, the Weasley family lived there, as well as the Potters. She couldn't stand the supposed Girl-Who-Lived, who was arrogant enough to make even the Dark Lord pale in comparison. She grudgingly admitted, however, that the arrogant girl had the skill and power to back up some of her statements, but she still couldn't hold a candle compared to Dumbledore and the Dark Lord…. Or her older brother.

Harry Potter is the older brother of Alexis Potter, and as mysterious as the stars. At first glance, he looks like any teenager. Easy-going, out-going, arrogant, joking, the list goes on and on. Daphne knew better. Harry had a look in his eyes that showed that his intelligence was much better than what he showed normally. She knew that he was intelligent, as he was passing his classes, but that's as far as the hidden intellect goes. He was clueless in social situations, and seemed far too sensitive to just about anything. Still, she knew that he was also hiding something else, as the bags under his eyes never seemed to really leave, and he always walked slow, as though each step was painful.

How did she know this, you may ask? It's simple. He's her Ex-Boyfriend.

During their 4th year, they had been assigned by their charms teacher to study and write a foot long essay, as well as being able to perform a demonstration of the summoning charm, and describe it's many uses. At first, the two clashed horribly, but it seemed the saying "opposites attract" was more truthful than she assumed. By the end of the three week long project, they were snogging passionately somewhere during their spare time every chance they could.

The relationship was perfect. The two trusted each other, and balanced each other out. She was cold, and his warmth thawed her out to the point that she could even joke around with his Gryffindor housemates. Than one day, something changed. For one, the normally crazed and twinkly-eyed headmaster suddenly looked much older than he normally seemed. Professor James and Lily Potter were pale, and kept casting pleading looks towards their eldest son, but that wasn't what surprised Daphne that day. It was how her boyfriend looked that shocked her more than anything she had ever felt in her life to the moment.

His face was stoic, so stone-like that Daphne, the Ice Queen, was jealous at how well he pulled the blank mask off. He was sitting with his back straight as opposed to his normal laid back posture. His eyes, however, made her spine shiver. His eyes were blank. A pale green. Nothing. No emotion, no soul, just empty.

The eyes of a broken man.

She had sought him out after dinner that night, concerned. One thing led to another, and they yelled at each other. Well, more like Daphne yelled at him as he stood there staring at her, responding in a cool, even, controlled, monotone voice. It made her angrier that he was showing so little, and she continued to become even more enraged as time stretched on. By the time the argument was close to ending, the entirety of the school was watching them, stunned.

Finally, Daphne snapped. Desperate for anyway to hurt her stoic boyfriend, she stated they were done. She broke up with him, and embarrassed him by saying he was a terrible boyfriend, and that she wished that she had never met him, that he had never been born, that he had died, and so many other horrible things. After her rant, her chest was heaving, and she felt brief triumph shoot through her when his eyes flashed with pain. It was short lived however, when his eyes pulled up those walls in a flash, and of all the things he could've done in that moment, he smiled wanly, and gave her a strained nod. Then he turned on his heel, as the whole school broke into shocked whispers, and left the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Her triumph was instantly replaced, when he had left the room, and was replaced by horror. What had she done? She… she needed to fix this. Quickly, before it could get worse. Her face had paled, and she had hurried past the shocked teachers and whispering students, into the corridor. She didn't see him. When she had gone to the Gryffindor tower to get in (Harry always gave her the passwords), the Fat Lady had stated that the password had been changed, didn't Harry tell her? Changed earlier that morning.

She thanked her, shell-shocked, and walked back to her dorm in a daze. When she finally got to her bed, she fell asleep with tears rushing down her face.

That was three years ago, and Daphne still regretted it today. Every time she saw Harry now, he would be polite with her, joke and talk to her. Their conversations were missing something though. His words weren't to a lover, rather, it seemed he talked to her as though she was a distant acquaintance. Every time she had tried to apologize, or even try to restore their relationship, he either changed the subject, became deaf, or very stern.

She had given up at this point, and this was the reason why she had spent her last few days sitting in front of a window, sobbing as she looked at their many photos. In fact, she was doing just that when an alarm burst through the entirety of Grimmauld Place. She stood up, knowing by now that the alarm meant something was being attacked, and left the library and went down to the sitting room. She noticed many things, first of them being that the Potters were missing.

Dumbledore called them to order (She never really noticed when the other Order members had shown up, nor could she really remember her reasoning for joining this cursed order in the first place.) and stated with a grave voice that Hogwarts was finally under attack.

"You cannot be serious!" Daphne had shouted, her face pale. Her sister was still in there!

"I am, Miss Greengrass. Earlier today, James issued a challenge through the papers to Voldemort, and it seems that Voldemort has finally answered. He is attacking Hogwarts en-mass, and seems to have the intention of burning the school to the ground." Dumbledore said, as though he was speaking about the morning news.

"Over my dead body!" Shouted one Order member.

"No bloody way!" Came another.

"The hell they are!" Moody growled out.

Those words however, never really had an impact on Daphne. What caused her blood start to race and the need to join the battle arose when Dumbledore said:

"The Potters are already on site, leading the defense. I believe young Harry and Alexis have taken charge over the gate defenses while Lily and James are leading the Aurors in a counter attack to give the students time to evacuate." Dumbledore stated, and it seemed as though he looked straight at her when he said this.

"Would anyone like to volunteer in this battle?"

"I will!" Daphne called instantly, and the next thing she knew she was hustling through the floo with the entire order at her back.

She came out the other side, and she wanted to vomit. The wounded were being treated in the Great Hall, and the dead…. The dead reached already from one end of the wall, to the other. She could hear the sounds of explosions and battle close by, and realized with a jolt, that the battle had already come to the gates. Steeling herself, pulling up her old Ice Queen façade, she rushed towards the gates, wand raised and ready to fight.

The next few hours were a blur of spells, blood, spells, dust, and more blood. She barely remembered everything she had done in that amount of time, only keeping with her the knowledge that she was responsible for the deaths of 7 Death Eaters. Currently, she was fighting number eight. A female, by the way she moved and how her robes clung to her figure.

Daphne was exhausted. Sweat blinded her, and she was short on breath constantly. Blood was seeping from a cut she had received on her arm in an explosion when the gates had finally been breached, causing the defenders to fall back into the courtyard of Hogwarts. The death eater disarmed her, and she fell over. She looked up at a green-glowing tipped wand, and closed her eyes in acceptance, wishing she could've seen Harry again.

Instead of dying, however, she felt liquid on her face, and then a sudden weight on her. Her eyes opened in surprise, and pushed whatever was on her off. Upon seeing what it was, she emptied her stomach onto the now dead, headless Death Eater.

She felt someone grabbing her, and then lifting her up. She turned to whoever it was, and saw with shock that it was Harry. Half his hair was covered in blood, and his scar that went over his left eye was bleeding. He was shouting something, pulling her along, point his wand behind her. The world was blurry, and she simply leaned on him, and let him drag her.

Slowly, the world came into focus, and she could finally hear him.

"- ack! Fall back! Into the Hall! Quickly, if you fall behind you stay behind! Come on, stay with me Daphne." He said, looking at her towards the end of his rant. She nodded, then closed her eyes, wanting to rest.

When her eyes opened again, she found her parents and sister crying over her body, and she groaned. Her mother gasped, and hugged her fiercely, stating that she was so happy to see her, and how she was so sorry for not being there to help her. She weathered it, and looked about what she assumed was the great hall.

People were in mourning everywhere, and men and women alike were groaning and screaming for help. The dead were aligned in rows throughout the hall.

She stood, her family supporting her, when the Dark Lords voice suddenly called for the defenders of Hogwarts to come forward. She limped her way out into the courtyard, over the many bodies of Aurors and Death Eaters. When she stood before him, whatever hope she had of victory left her.

The army at the Dark Lord's back was large, easily past the 200 mark, out-numbering the meager 70 or so defenders left.

The Dark Lord sneered, and called for Dumbledore to come forward. He came forward, and the two exchanged some meaningless words. Dumbledore spoke of how the Dark Lord should repent, and the Dark Lord sneered, saying that his victory was at hand, and that the old man should be groveling at his feet. Dumbledore merely smiled, and drew his wand.

The Dark Lord laughed, and spoke of how he would rather face the supposed savior of the Wizarding World, rather than its protector. Dumbledore simply sighed, and turned back towards the defenders, gesturing for them to stand aside. They did so, and revealed the Potter family standing defiantly before the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord smiled, and said that he would give the child-who-lived one more hour to say their goodbyes. Alexis stepped forward, stating she wouldn't need the time, and the Dark Lord merely sneered at her, before telling her that he was speaking about her, but rather her brother.

She was shocked, and turned to look at her Ex, who stepped forward slowly, saying he accepted his terms, and would meet Voldemort in the courtyard in one hour. Voldemort laughed, and nodded, turning and speaking with a mocking tone of how they will honor his request.

She was the first to reach him, and pulled him inside. They talked, and she had asked him why he had never told her. He spoke with affection in his tone again, as though speaking to a lover, that it was to protect her. To keep her alive, as he went to his death. She felt tears rush down her face as his story became more evident, and she realized that Harry was the one that had it worse than she ever did.

His parents neglected him, and he had no true friends, being shunned by everyone until school began, where he made his first friends. Spoke of how he had first seen her, and thought she was the meanest, yet prettiest thing he had ever seen. Slowly, she learned the secrets of her Ex, and she felt horrible, especially when he got to the events of their fourth year. He talked about how he wanted to speak to her, to love her, to hold her close. Instead, he had to keep her away for her own safety, for Dumbledore had revealed to Harry that he was the true child-who-lived.

So he had trained, and pushed her away to protect her. By the time he was done, tears were making a puddle beneath Daphne's feet, and she dashed towards him, hugging him fiercely, stating that she was so sorry, babbling on and on about how wrong she was to end the relationship, that she should've been there for him. She told him he loved her, and suddenly he stiffened.

Afraid she had said the wrong thing, she looked up tearfully, to see Harry with a shocked look on his face. Suddenly, he smiled wanly, saying that he couldn't remember the last time someone said that too him with a shaky voice. She smiled at him, and despite the situation, giggled. His face turned indignant, and her giggles turned to laughter. It was just like 4th year again, and she leant forward and pecked his cheek, saying that he was adorable when he was confused.

He smiled, and leant forward, and kissed her for the first time in three years. The kiss lasted seconds, but to Daphne it could've been an eternity. When they finally broke apart, he looked so content that Daphne couldn't help but smile, her heart beating fast again.

All too soon, their moment ended when Voldemort called for their duel to begin. Daphne paled, and pulled Harry close, desperate not to lose him. She said they could run away together. He said no. She said she would go with him.

He said no.

Her sobs were now hysterical, and she let herself be dragged by Harry as she clung to him desperately. She wanted him to live. She wanted to grow old with him, and have his children. She wanted to die with him. Finally, they both stood by the doors of the great hall before Voldemort. She was screaming now, hysterical as both sides watched in shock, save for Voldemort who sneered, and Dumbledore who watched with tears in his own sad blue eyes.

She screamed that it wasn't fair, that they had just gotten back what they wanted. It wasn't fair, goddamnit!

He turned at that, and smiled at her wanly, and said this:

"Life isn't fair, Daphne. You and I know this better than anyone else. So we do the best we can with what we have, and do our best to make life worth living. Life isn't cruel though Daphne. It doesn't give us what we want, but it gives us what we need."

"But I need you!" She cried.

"No, I need you. You saved me so many times, without even knowing. You kept me alive, and your voice kept me fighting. You're my everything. I got what I needed, just not for long. Life isn't fair, and neither is time." He said sadly.

"No… please! It's not fair!" She cried like a child at Christmas, uncaring of the impatient Dark Lord at the other end of the yard.

Harry smiled, and chuckled softly.

"Life isn't fair, but dreams are. So dream of us Daphne, and I'll be waiting for you on the other side. Who knows, we might not even wait that long." He said, and caused Daphne to cry harder.

He untangled himself from her now weak grip, and stepped forward, but turned one more time to her. He kissed her, and whispered that he loved her, and left something in her pocket.

With that, he turned with a content smile on his face, and walked forward, raising his wand for one final battle.

She had watched, and she pondered his words. The words were pessimistic, and were the words of someone who truly believed life wasn't fair, nor good. Some would agree, and she used too.

Not anymore.

She watched the wounded Harry sleeping upon the infirmary bed in the Hogwarts hospital wing, and looked at the box that he left in her pocket. It had a wedding ring in it, with one simple sapphire, the color of her eyes. She studied it, and then placed it on her left finger.

She looked at her sleeping fiancé, wounded from his victory he never believed possible over Voldemort, and felt a wave of Determination wash over her. He believed that life was terrible, and wasn't fair.

She would prove him wrong, one day at a time.

**Not to sappy I hope? **

**Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review, as well as some positive feedback. I'm not currently looking for beta's, but a well written review left behind might just change my mind. Until next time kids.**

**- Venator**


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